Art opens us up

From Page 4

the writer, that art has become
the religion of the educated
classes. Anything patronized
by large corporations has to be
tainted, goes the reasoning.
Art serves merely to legitimize
wealth, Wolfe roared. And, of
course, there’s truth in that.

{tend to think of artists en
masse as being probably what
McLuhan said they were: the
antennae of the race, probing
the ground ahead for the
bumbling herd. 1 also have an
idea of just how profoundly
art shapes and reshapes the
way we sce things.

Ina nutshell, artists open us
up to new means of percep-
tion, It may take a generation
or a hundred years, but they
are the ones who give us eyes
to see in ways we never saw
before, new music which
changes the way we hear, new
ideas that alter our minds.

Cloverdale

PAINT N’ PAPER

course, there are
characters out there who
scamper for grants who are
maybe not the most fantastic
artists in the universe, but the
truth is, left entirely to the
forces of the market the arts
have a way of becoming
nothing much more than an
arm of advertising. It's
depressing, but true,

That's why it was a pleasure
to read a copy of a speech by
East Coast writer Don
Cameron, who finally broke
away from the artsy habit of
hand-wringing, and socked it
to the bottom-liners.

Cameron said the latest
figures he had showed ‘the
arts in Canada were this coun-
try's eleventh-largest industry,
bigger than textiles or rubber
or plastic, and about as big as
the electrical or the wood in-
dustry.” Revenues had long
since reached $8 billion a year
with a national payroll of
nearly $3 million.

“Moreover,’’ he added,

**we are a labor-intensive in-
dustry, employing about
235,000 people — more than
any other manufacturing in-
dustry, Our labor force grew
74 per cent between 1971 and
1981, while the Canadian
labor force as a whole grew
only 39 per cent.

“In terms of employment,
we are about as large as
agriculture. We represent
about four per cent of the
Gross National Product, and
we receive about 1.8 per cent
of federal expenditures.

“Ef this is freeloading, let's
have more of it."

So pause, Tories, as you
reach for a bigger axe. Art
makes motiey, creates jobs.

(Kes, Be Water Wise. Play it Safe.

a Aue Teed fhe barkiy Cies

4
Whun boating, follow the cules and learn
ADOUTIOCAT NZ ds SHED aS TES A CUHENES

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patient services. Mail ‘‘In
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Pauline Johnson
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1150 22nd Street
West Vancouver, 8.C.

V7V 4C4
(604) 925-1952
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the name and address to
‘whom acknowledgement
should be sent, and the
name of the donor for
official receipt purposes.

985-5552

9 - Wednesday, April 3, 1985 - North Shore News

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